same time, same place
by MixItUp
Summary: An engaging conversation, a flirty barista, and a lot of awkwardness. Ryella. Troyella. Fluff. Oneshot.


**same time, same place**

It had been almost an entire year since she had seen him; after all, they were on opposite sides of the country, 3,000 long miles between them. Still, when her eyes caught his in the cafe, it felt as though only a few minutes had passed since their last goodbye at East High's graduation. Her approach was slow, almost hesitant, as though she had not been expecting to see him; his lips lightly brushed her hand, and the remembrance brought a new flush to her face.

"Why, Ryan Evans," she said, in a fake Southern belle accent, "you would not believe how delighted I am to see you." Her eyes glimmered at him, and he laughed, a noise so familiar and yet so fresh to her ears that she found herself longing to hear it again. The hot cup of coffee on the table lay forgotten.

"_Au contraire, mademoiselle_ Gabriella_,_" was his smooth reply. "You are far more lovely than I, so it is my pleasure." He winked and raised his eyebrows; she giggled at his antics. They embraced warmly.

"How are you?" he asked enthusiastically, pulling out her chair and sliding into the seat opposite. The resemblance to Troy's almost unbearable chivalry was unmistakable, and if Gabriella had not known Ryan better, she might have thought the dancer had developed it in response to the other.

"I'm fine, how about you?" She closed her eyes, savoring the coffee-shop smell (she never had time for a relaxing cup of tea or really even decent coffee anymore, in her suffocating schedule). "Mm, it smells great in here."

"Doesn't it? I'm great, yeah, Juilliard's just...fantastic." It was obvious that he was straining to keep his happiness even under this much control, and she smiled at his boyish excitement.

"That's great," Gabriella said honestly, and he nodded. She noticed that his hat was new, at least to her; hardly a surprise. While Ryan wasn't a shopper the way his sister was, he still enjoyed the perks of being an Evans, and it wasn't like him to reuse outfits much. It'd been a year...of course he would have new hats. Still, it made her a little sad to think that she had missed enough of his life to see him in strange clothes that were probably comfortable and familiar to him by now.

She suddenly realized, from the expectant look on his face, that he'd asked her a question. Ears finally registering, she replied, "Oh...yes, Stanford is good. Great, I mean." Her smile was probably nervous.

After an awkward moment, she asked, "So how's Kelsie?"

Ryan's expression was nearly blank. "Kelsie? Oh...yeah. She's good. Busy, you know. Writing new music."

"I hope she makes time for you, though." Gabriella smiled, although the strange pang in her heart was hard to ignore.

He cleared his throat. "Um...actually, we broke up."

"I'm so sorry!" she gasped.

"No, no, it's okay." He raised his hands in a sort of "calm-down" motion. "You know, we're still friends."

"You just...grew apart, huh?"

"I guess. I mean, I thought we were fine, but she kinda dumped me. It's fine, though, really."

Another silence fell. Gabriella fidgeted with her bracelet, and while she saw Ryan's eyes flit to it, he did not ask. Politely excusing himself, the young man went to the counter. She watched him order: he was still a little awkward with asking people for things, even though his upbringing had caused him to do so often. The barista obviously found him attractive, but he didn't seem to notice her advances; all she got from him was a courteous reply. He's probably still thinking about Kelsie, Gabriella thought...he didn't seem entirely over her, despite what he had said.

Ryan seated himself once more, busying himself with pouring honey into his tea. She couldn't bring herself to look away. After a minute, he said in a rather forced tone, "So you and Troy are still going strong?"

"Yeah. I mean...I guess." She glanced back down at her bracelet, and then at the door.

He was smiling, but something in his eyes looked empty. "Any sign of wedding bells in the future?"

She sighed. "I don't know." Her voice gave away more of her irritation than she had intended.

Ryan raised an eyebrow and sipped his tea, and she felt like cursing him for being so calm, although she knew it was not from indifference. "You don't want to get married?"

"I'd love to get married, it's just..."

"Not to Troy?" he asked, and she could have sworn that she detected a bit of hope in his voice.

"I don't know, maybe." Gabriella traced patterns on her napkin with the stir stick. "But my mom and dad divorced when I was really little. They weren't too young, or didn't love each other...it just didn't work out, they said. They weren't right for each other. He's happy now with his new wife, but my mom...she's never gotten over him. I don't want that to be me." She closed her eyes, in hopes that she could chase away the tears threatening to fall.

"Hey." His warm hand was a welcome presence on her shoulder, and she felt herself leaning into the touch. "It'll be okay. Trust me, if anybody can work something out, it's you, Gabriella. You're the most amazing girl I've ever met."

She opened her eyes, and his face was a lot closer to hers than she had expected. Her face suddenly heating up out of control, she sat back in her chair. A very warm feeling spread in her body, but the shocked look on Ryan's face tipped her off that this time it was more than her hormones. The paper coffee cup was on the floor, and most of her at least acceptably cute outfit had been drenched in the hot liquid. Standing up slowly, she took the napkins that Ryan handed her and did her best to sponge off the coffee as he cleaned the floor. The barista now looked at Gabriella disapprovingly, and it was all that the usually mature young woman could do not to stick her tongue out at the flirt.

"Aw, Ryan, I'm so sorry," she said, but his unallowably warm hand was on her arm again before she could fully apologize. The look in his eyes told her it was okay, and she returned to sopping up coffee with a redder tint to her face. Why was he affecting her like this, all of a sudden? Was it really sudden? She'd put away the little crush she'd held on the dancer out of her mind when she went off to Stanford, and she'd assumed that it had dissipated, but maybe she'd never entirely gotten over him.

He ordered another cup of coffee for her (entirely casually, as the barista glared daggers), and they situated themselves once more. Gabriella was finding herself drawn to his slightest movements, and she scolded herself for being so obvious about it. What would Troy think?

"Gabriella, have you ever thought about what would have happened if we had ended up together?"

She choked on her coffee, but managed to swallow it. Looking at Ryan, who was entirely unfazed, she was sure her confusion and disbelief were apparent.

"I mean," he continued, "I don't know, don't you think it could have been interesting?"

"I...yeah, I guess so," she said hesitantly, thinking back to that summer before senior year. He had definitely liked her then, and she had felt _something_ for him, but then Taylor and Sharpay and Troy and the singing..."You set that up, didn't you?"

He obviously had not followed her mental game of connections, and she explained, "That summer, after junior year. When Troy and I sang. You set it up. Why?"

"Well, why wouldn't I?" His blue eyes were innocent; perhaps a little too much so.

"Oh come on, Ryan, you totally had a crush on me."

"Me?" He shook his head. "No, no, no."

"You so did."

"Not even slightly."

"_Blatantly_."

"Okay, fine, I had a crush on you," he admitted, grinning at her, and she had the strange feeling that he had wanted her to ask. "So?" 

"You set it up so Troy and I would get back together!" she accused, although she wasn't exactly sure why this was an accusation. If he had, then it had been a selfless act, but still she felt rather angry about it.

"I set it up so you would sing together, yeah," Ryan said coolly, and Gabriella felt herself growing frustrated.

"But if you liked me..."

"How selfish do you think I am, Gabriella?" he asked, and she realized this was the most seriously he had ever spoken to her. No trace of a playful smirk was on his lips, no good-natured gleam in his eyes. He meant every word, and the intensity of his speech almost made her blush.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it," she countered.

"Oh, really? Because that's what it sounds like. Obviously, I wanted you to be happy because I liked you, and I felt kind of lucky just to be friends with you. I didn't want to push my limits when you were obviously only interested in Troy." His face tightened.

"I _was_ interested, Ryan," she said, not sure whether she was angry or somehow happy. "But everybody expected me to get back together with Troy, including him and...and you. It was easy."

He looked at her in disbelief and she felt suddenly suspicious of the barista, who was currently leaning quite far over the counter. "You were interested in me?" he asked, voice husky and a little weak.

"Of course I was. Did you think I was flirting with you just for fun? I don't do that." She reached out a hand and touched his, but a feeling of guilt drew it back again.

"Sharpay does," Ryan said softly, and Gabriella bit her lip. "I'm sorry, I guess I just spent so much of my time around her that...well, it's all in the past anyway."

She wasn't sure what to say to that, and so for a moment they fell silent again. Finally, she laughed, a sort of bittersweet affair. "Yes, I have."

"Have what?" He looked back up to her, pushing his empty cup to the side.

"Thought about us. I think it would have been more than interesting."

Ryan toyed with the stir stick. "I suppose it's too late now."

"The thing is," she hedged, "maybe it's not."

His fair eyebrows raised again. "I think you're forgetting about Troy, sweetheart."

Gabriella wasn't sure whether or not he had meant the nickname sarcastically or not. "I wouldn't feel too guilty."

"Even I would feel guilty," he argued. "I hardly even know him, but I know he's a good guy. He doesn't deserve for his girl to be taken away from him by some guy she hasn't seen in a year. What if it doesn't work out between us, what then?"

"What about what I deserve?" she asked indignantly. "What about what you deserve? Maybe this doesn't have to be all about Troy."

"You've been all about Troy ever since the day I met you," Ryan shot back, and she saw (not for the first time) a resemblance to Sharpay in his sweet blue eyes.

"Ryan, what if we would be devastatingly happy?" She was whispering, and she wasn't sure why, but the busybody barista looked put out at this development.

"I've seen devastatingly happy. You and Troy, every time he went back and got you, every time he apologized for something he did, every time you sang together. Blissfully happy." He set his jaw and rested his head on his arms.

"Why are you always rooting for him? Why are you acting like this? Everybody can tell you're not over me, so why are you protesting so badly? It's so obvious, I feel bad for Kelsie."

He didn't look taken aback, merely resigned. "That's why she dumped me. I tried my best to be entirely devoted to her, and it was easy for awhile, but..."

"So what's wrong?" Gabriella asked urgently.

"Like I said, I've seen devastatingly happy. I can't imagine you'd be happy with me. I love you too much to do that to you. I mean, think of the family reunions, you can't stand Sharpay. The mansion would make you awkward. What if I'm not successful and you end up having to support us, because you'd be the one with a stable career?" His voice was tight.

"And I thought I was the lawyer in training. Overthinking it much?" She touched Ryan's hand, and he didn't jerk away. "You said it. You love me. I'm not there yet, but I know I could love you in that way."

"We're back to Troy," he said flatly.

"We're really more like best friends," she replied, in a downcast voice. "Sometimes it seems like he thinks I'm his replacement Chad."

"Best friends that kiss and date, go to prom together, choose colleges near each other..."

"That was all him."

"Oh, right, I must have missed the fact that it wasn't mutual," Ryan said sarcastically.

Her eyes flashed. "I would break up with Troy this instant if I thought I had a chance with you, Ryan Evans! Are you happy now? Is that what you want to hear? Maybe I'm afraid to take a chance on you, because sometimes you're just so hard to read and—"

"I'm trying to look out for your best interest, Gabriella," he interrupted, pale lips almost pouting.

Gabriella looked at him for a moment that seemed to last hours. "Why won't you accept that you could be what's best for me?"

Ryan opened his mouth, seemed to think better of it, and then closed it again. He cleared his throat. "You know, in a dance, one has to ask to cut in."

Her face lit up. She realized that today she had worked harder for what she wanted than she had since that first musical back at East High. It was rather...invigorating.

"I don't want to be known as a guy who would steal someone's girlfriend, but if you break up with him...we'll talk." Clearly satisfied with his argument, he crossed his arms and sat further back, tipping his hat at her. The ball was in her court.

She smiled. "Ryan, Troy and I broke up two months ago."

He started. "What? But you said..." His baby blues were wide, and she cracked a still bigger grin at his expression.

"I figured you knew about it, but when you didn't, I thought I'd see what you would say." Gabriella was quite pleased with herself, and it showed.

"You are too sneaky," he said in disbelief.

"I learned from the best. So, Wildcat, what do you say?" Her eyes glittered.

Ryan pretended to think. "Hmm...can we retroactively make this our first date? I mean, it's been a pretty awesome one. It'd take some of the pressure off if we didn't have to try and outdo this right away."

"Good point," she agreed. "It's going to be kind of hard keeping up a long-distance relationship, I guess."

"Kind of hard? You wouldn't believe the choreography I'm having to learn at Juilliard." He winked.

"Oh please, dancing boy," she scoffed, "you think Stanford's courses are easy? I'm literally drowning in the work. _Literally_."

"I bet it's easy for a brainiac like you." Gabriella giggled.

"Taking any courses over the summer?" she asked him.

"No. You?"

"Nope. Same time next week?"

"You gotcha."

They parted ways with a pair of smiles fastened firmly on their blushing faces.


End file.
